CPA Global, the legal process outsourcing (LPO) provider, is to expand its 450-strong team of lawyers in India nearly eight-fold, in response to growing demand from Europe and the US.

The company expects to employ 3,500 lawyers in India by 2011, the Gazette has learned. The decision comes at a time when many clients, especially corporate general counsel, have begun to request that firms outsource simple legal tasks to reduce overall costs.

Speaking to the Gazette after last week’s C5 Reducing Legal Costs conference, Andrew Loach, vice-president of business development for CPA in Europe, said increased US litigation is the main factor underlying increased demand.

‘The demand for outsourcing has gone through the roof over the last few months,’ he said. ‘It is being driven by both Europe and the US, but the US is six to nine months ahead of Europe in terms of adopting LPO.’

The cause is ‘a spike in litigation’, with some cases so big that firms lack resources to do simple tasks quickly and efficiently, he added. ‘The simpler work, such as document review, is being sent to India instead.’

Magic circle firm Clifford Chance and national firm Eversheds have already piloted outsourcing in India. Kevin Doolan, head of client services at Eversheds, said the pilot had been ‘successful’ but the firm outsourced only small amounts.

Mark Harding, general counsel at Barclays and former chairman of the GC100, the association for general counsel and company secretaries of FTSE-100 companies, said earlier this year that the issue of encouraging law firms to outsource ­simpler work was becoming increasingly important.

Indian universities produce 79,000 law graduates every year, many of whom go on to work in outsourcing houses.